NSW Labor MP in $460 taxi ride

Natalie O'Brien

A state Labor MP claimed more than $460 for a single daytime taxi fare when she was mayor of Bankstown, as Prime Minister Tony Abbott is caught up in an expenses scandal over his frontbenchers using taxpayer funds to attend weddings or other events.

The trip by Bankstown MP Tania Mihailuk was part of more than $1100 she claimed in taxi fares for that month, and when she had access to a mayoral driver.

Ms Mihailuk, who said she used the taxis to attend community functions, spent $468.35 on a single fare, which was listed as ''Bankstown to the suburbs'', as mayor in 2009.

Documents obtained from Bankstown Council under the Government Information Public Access Act showed the trip, taken in March 2009, was clocked off at 4.17pm.

In other months Ms Mihailuk, who was Bankstown mayor from 2006 to 2011, incurred single taxi fares as high as $220 on journeys described as ''Suburbs to Bankstown'' or $180 ''Suburbs to Chester Hill.''

NSW Greens MP and local government spokesman David Shoebridge said the $468 fare was ''one hell of a ride'' and it was next to impossible to see how it can be justified to residents and ratepayers.

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"The size of these taxi bills is hard to fathom when a trip from one end of the Bankstown local government area to the other would be, at most, a 20-minute cab ride,'' he said.

Ms Mihailuk said, as mayor of Bankstown, she attended as many community functions and meetings as possible each day.

''At all times, the administration of council oversaw the booking and the payment of these matters and at no stage at that time or since were any concerns brought to my attention," she said.

A spokesman for the Minister for Local Government, Don Page, said any concerns about the expenses incurred by a former councillor should be referred to the Division of Local Government to assess whether the expenses were incurred in compliance with the Council's policy.

The federal expenses scandal began last month when a Fairfax Media investigation revealed that taxpayers had footed the bill for federal Attorney-General George Brandis and Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce to attend the wedding of radio personality Michael Smith.

Senator Brandis repaid $1700 after the story broke and Mr Joyce handed back $650.

Since then, a quarter of Mr Abbott's frontbench, including the Prime Minister, have repaid taxpayer funds, with many maintaining the expenses were legitimate.

Last week, it was reported NSW government ministers had paid back about $2500 for private expenses that were wrongly charged to the taxpayer, including former finance minister Greg Pearce, who repaid $969 after admitting an overnight trip to Canberra was not official business.